SAN ANTONIO - Allen Iverson was on the bus to practice early, a full 10 minutes before departure. He has been, in fact, on board from the start of training camp, doing everything he said he would do.

"I'm trying to get back to the Finals," Iverson said after the 76ers completed practice yesterday. "I know that it starts with me. We have a car, and I'm the engine in the car. If I'm running right, I guess the rest of the car will run right."

Remember, Iverson said if there were 100 things for him to do, he didn't want to do 99. And that now includes leading a team that will have nine fully able bodies for tomorrow night's NBA regular-season opener in Orlando.

"Just understand that's what you have, and that's what you have to work with - just make the best of it," the three-time scoring champion and 2000-01 Most Valuable Player said. "Once the season starts, the other team's not going to care about how many players you have, they're just going to come out gunning for you."

The Sixers will carry 15 men, the maximum permissible. Monty Williams, Samuel Dalembert and rookie Sam Clancy will open on the maximum three-man injured list, meaning that Derrick Coleman and Greg Buckner - even though they're not yet ready - will be on the active roster. Mark Bryant also will be active, although he has just begun to practice and coach Larry Brown described him as "far from ready." With 16 players remaining, it would appear today's final cut will come down to Art Long or Olden Polynice, both free agents.

Williams is out 4 to 6 weeks, Dalembert at least 3 months, both after knee surgery. Coleman, who had knee surgery in the offseason, could be ready by mid-November. Buckner, who suffered a sprained knee in training camp, could be back by the fourth or fifth game. Clancy, a second-round draft choice, had offseason knee surgery and has yet to be cleared to practice.

"My whole thing is, the troops are en route," Brown said, allowing himself a smile. "I just hope there's not a lot of traffic."

In the meantime, Iverson - who came back from a chipped bone in his right middle finger after just 5 days - remains focused on the job at hand. Again, doing exactly what he said he would do.

"I've tried to do everything that's asked of me," he said. "That's what I'm supposed to do, that's what I get paid to do. There are a lot of benefits that come from it; I think my teammates get a lot better and we get, I guess, a lot better as a unit.

"But regardless of what I do, and how well I do, [there] are still going to be people that say I can do more...I'm never going to be able to satisfy my critics; that's why they're critics. The only thing I can do is try and do the best that I can, and that's going to be enough for me. It should be enough for the coaching staff and my team.

"I'm trying to do everything that I can to make us better. If that's coming early and staying late, then that's what I'll do. If that's lifting and being on time and working harder than everybody else out there on the floor, that's something I'm capable of doing. I don't have any problem with it."

Brown clearly has been satisfied.

"Other than the last [preseason] game, he played great," Brown said, referring to Friday night's loss to the San Antonio Spurs. "Since he's come back from his [finger injury], he's played great. He's tried...he doesn't like to practice, but it hasn't been an issue with me once. Being punctual hasn't been an issue once. I don't even think about it. If that's the case, then obviously it has been a priority with him, to try and do what's right. It's nice that you don't have to address issues and [can] just coach."

Among Iverson's priorities is a deep desire to win a championship.

"I watch the vintage NBA shows and all the greatest games," Iverson said. "I watch guys win championships in the '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000, and it all looks the same. It just looks like a great feeling. I had the opportunity to win a championship [in '00-01], but I never won a championship, so I can't tell you how I'll feel [when I do], but I think that'll be a big exclamation point to my career.

"I just want to do it with the guys that I'm around, because I know how hungry they are, how bad they want it. I don't know, man, I just want that feeling. And I don't look at it like I want a championship because that'll solidify me as one of the great players or anything like that. I want it for myself. I feel like I deserve it, I feel like coach Brown deserves it, I feel like the guys on this squad deserve it.

"We can't do it without each other. It's just important for us to try and do everything we can as a group, and the coaches to do everything they can as a staff. And I think, if you put both of those together, you can't have anything but success."

Iverson insists that, at this point, the "sky is the limit" for every team. Brown, assessing his injury-riddled roster, says, "We've got to hold the fort down."

Somewhere in the middle of those two perspectives is reality. The search begins tomorrow night.